Sizing up a Monumental Task: Building Your Recruitment Funnel and Measuring the Flow

Marcus Hanscom, M.B.A. (@MarcusHanscom)Associate Director, Graduate AdmissionsUniversity of New HavenFounder, NEGAP

About Me: A Case Study

I enjoy watching golf on TV

(and no, it’s not boring)

DISCLAIMER: This isn’t me.

About Me: A Case Study

I eat my cereal dry

About Me: A Case Study

Commercial aviation

photography is one of my

favorite hobbies

About Me: Marketing Assumptions

• Advertising on a milk carton is a bad idea

• I might be inclined to read an ad on Tiger Woods’ or Phil Mickelson’s hat

• Advertising on the side of an airplane might work:

About Me: A More Practical Approach• 27 years old

• Hold B.S. and M.B.A.

• I might “like” your Facebook page or follow you on #Twitter

• I might click on a paid ad if it is interesting to me

• I am persistent, so I will find info on your siteregardless of how many clicks it takes(I am an exception to the rule)

Marketing to Me, Practically Speaking• Have a social media presence

• Be willing to communicate with me electronically, though I like the phone as well

• Avoid snail mail – it just clogs my mailbox.

• Buy paid ads where I may go – Google, Facebook

• Make information easy to obtain on your website

Learning Outcome for Today

• We will recruit more efficiently and deliver higher ROI if we:– Evaluate our current student base

– Use student information to make educated decisions on marketing channels and relevant messaging

– AND track student data throughout the funnel including activity on our website, social media

The “Informed” ROI Process

Assess Incoming/Cur

rent Students

Lead Generation

Funnel Management/M

arketing/Recruitment

Tracking

THE FOUNDATIONSJust the basics. Where are we now?

Consider leadership…

“Know thyself… and others.”

Your current students

• Assess the demographics and needs of current students– Average age?

– Male/Female ratio?

– Previous major?

– Referral Source?

• In an ideal world, assess by program– Easier for decentralized admissions

A Case Study: M.S.E.D.

Age 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

M.S. Education Applicants by Age and Gender

Three-Year Analysis: AY08-09 through AY10-11

MaleFemale

A Case Study: M.S.E.D.

Referral Source n % of nFair/Expo/Tour 15 1.6%Internet 169 18%UNH Mailing/Email 6 0.6%Newspaper Ad 3 0.3%Other 142 15%Print/Web Directory 16 1.7%Word of Mouth 506 55%Empty 63 6.8%Totals 920

M.S. Education Applicants by Referral Source and GenderThree-Year Analysis: AY08-09 through AY10-11

Gender % of n nFemale 71% 653Male 29% 267Total --- 920

Assignment #1

• Conduct a program demographic assessment– Age/Gender

– Location (In/Out of State, International)

– Referral Source

– Previous Major

– …and others

• Present to program faculty– Engage faculty in process if not already

– Faculty buy-in is crucial

BUILDING THE FUNNELWe all want our cake, and we want to eat it, too.

Generating Awareness

• That’s so 2001…– Printed Directories

– Bulk Snail Mailings

– Cold Calling

– Newspaper tombstoneads

Generating Awareness

• …but this is so 2011– Directory Sites (Gradschools.com, Petersons.com,

Graduate Guide.com…)

– University Website

– Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, FourSquare…)

– Google/search engines

– Blogs

– Virtual Information Sessions/Chats

– Open Houses

Lead Sources

• Purchased Lists

• Directory Sites

• Social Media

• University Website

• Search Engines (Paid and Organic)

• Graduate Fairs/Visits

• Open Houses

• Webinars / Chats

• Word of Mouth

• Click-thru campaigns

• Mailings/BRC

• …and more

Key Questions

• What is the total budget allocated to generating leads?

• Are lead generation techniques/processes customized by program?

• What role do faculty members play? Administrators?

• How do you manage your prospect leads versus your inquiries?

Assignment #2

• Do a lead generation audit– List all current lead sources and costs

– Identify financial goals: spend more or less?

– Are you doing some things because “that is what we always do?”

– We have a collective groupthink problem. Does your institution suffer?

– Just the basics: How many students are applying or enrolling from each source?

ENGAGING PROSPECTSSo, the funnel is flowing. Now what!?

Keys to Success

• Communication Plan (Automated)

• Relevant Messaging

• Cross-channel messaging

• Regular social media participation

• Personalization whenever and wherever possible

Communication Plan

• CRM is key

• Automation = efficiency– Particularly for small offices

– Does not necessarily mean impersonal

• Integrated marketing opportunities– Letters, emails, personalized portal pages

– Phone call management

• Ensure communication consistency to all audiences

Relevant Messaging

• Graduate students want personalization

• Avoid the fluff communications

• Provide program information as soon as possible– Preferably through multiple channels – mail,

email, phone

• Clear, succinct, “What’s in it for me?” communicationsInitial Email Communication

Interaction Rates

General 4% Program-Specific

20%

Social Media

• Not a “set it and forget it” process

• Engaging students on SM means exactly that– Regular interactions

– Go beyond the “press release” posts

– Offer contests

• Remember the audiences for each platform

• Create opportunities to request information, learn more, “see” your experience

• Integrate with your website

Where are you sending prospective students?• Generic page on your site?

• An inquiry form?

• A specific landing page for just the leads from a particular source?

• A specific inquiry form?

Assignment #3

• Set up Unique Source Pages – Set up landing pages or inquiry forms unique to

each lead source

– Create vanity urls (ie. www.newhaven.edu/nytimes) for print advertising

– Create pages for your generic lead generation and for event advertising management

– Use QR codes on mailings and advertisements with a unique landing page

Assignment #4

• Create a referral source policy– How do you accurately report where students

came from?

– Identify how the created source versus a “How did you hear about us?” question will vary in your data

• Create one data set/attribute to collect this data– Greatly reduces reporting headaches

MEASURING AND UTILIZING RESULTS

They came, we talked, but I have no idea what happened!

Measuring Results

• CRM System Results– Email Results (Open rate, interactions)

– Personalized portal results

• Source Coding (Referrals)– Create definitions/guide

• Unique Landing Pages w/tracking

• Google Analytics (or other software)

Email Interaction Rates

General

4% Program-Specific

20%

Personalized portal results

• 9% of all visitors clicked an “Apply Now” link• 69% of those completed and submitted an application

• Average visits per user: 4.9• Average login time: 20 minutes• 4,408 active visitors in last six months• 675 engaged visitors (15%)

Google Analytics

• Great for assessing website effectiveness

• Learn what content works

• Determine how students get to your content

• Determine which content is generating the most leads

• Determine information paths

• Be mindful of where you are sending students– If sending to external sites, can affect your

Analytics efforts

Google Analytics

Assignment #5

• Become a user on Google Analytics– Learn how to find your specific site content

– Evaluate metrics as a whole

– No single metric on its own is helpful

• Use metrics to make educated decisions about page content– Do you need to adjust content on your admissions

pages? Program pages?

– Would new landing pages help?

Campaign Tracking

• Google URL Builder– Other tools are available

– Ease of use for beginners and advanced users

• Use for web ads, landing pages, social media links, blog posts, etc.

URL Builder

Campaign Tracking Results

Assignment #6

• Use the URL builder to create a tracking URL– Try it with a social media ad

– Assess the results in GA after two weeks; a month; two months

• Advanced option: create two ads that link to two different pages on your website– Use two separate unique tracking URL’s

– Evaluate which pages/ads have better results

• Bounce rate, time on site, pages per visit, etc.

Tips on Tracking

• Minimize options on how students get to your site– Tracking does little good if you have too much to

track

• Use vanity URL’s for ease of use or hidden tracking URL’s

• Use short inquiry forms if directing students there first

• K.I.S.S.

• All tracking involves a grain of salt

Utilizing Results

• Allocation of financial and human resources

• Development of new channels/expansion of current ones

• Strategic advertising timing

• Strategic planning for links/awareness

• Restructure/rewrite existing content

A Starting ROI Argument

• Avg. Rev/Student x # enrolled from source = Estimated Total Revenue/Source– Can simplify numbers by funnel status

– Determine the “value” of a given inquiryor applicant

• Compare revenue to annual spend per source– Is your return worth the investment?

ROI Example

Directory Listing• Avg. Total Revenue/student =

$25,000

• Students enrolled = 10

• Total revenue from source= $250,000

• Annual Directory spend: $32,000

• ROI: 681%

**Remember this is using a gross revenue figure.

College Fairs• Avg. Total Revenue/student

= $25,000

• Students enrolled = 2

• Total revenue from source= $50,000

• Annual Travel Spend: $30,000

• ROI: 67%

Assignment #7

• Assign revenue to lead sources and determine estimated ROI– Gross revenue is a start

– Determine average revenue/student

• Can be most helpful at program level

– Can compare to other sources by percentage return on the dollar

Assignment Review

1. Conduct a program demographic assessment

2. Do a lead generation audit

3. Set up unique source pages

4. Create a referral source policy

5. Become a user on Google Analytics (and use it)

6. Use the URL builder to create a tracking URL

7. Assign revenue to lead sources for ROI

Final Thoughts

• None of this happens overnight

• Need commitment of human (and in some cases, financial) resources

• Involve faculty if not already doing so

• Be adaptable

THANK YOU.Questions?

Marcus HanscomMHanscom@newhaven.edu203.932.7277Twitter: @MarcusHanscom